Boston Public Market

The Boston Public Market entrance

Main entrance to the Boston Public Market
General information
Address 100 Hanover Street
Town or city Boston, Massachusetts
Country United States
Coordinates 42°21′43″N 71°03′25″W / 42.362039°N 71.056895°W / 42.362039; -71.056895
Opening 2015
Dimensions
Other dimensions 28,000 square feet retail space
Design and construction
Architect Arrowstreet (building) and Architerra (market)
Other information
Parking 325 spaces
Website
https://bostonpublicmarket.org/

The Boston Public Market[1] is an indoor public market that opened in July 2015[2] in downtown Boston, adjacent to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The market houses more than 35 year-round vendor stalls, and is open Wednesday to Sunday, from 8am to 8pm. In April 2016, the market announced plans to be open seven days a week beginning on July 18th.[3] An outdoor farmers' market[4] that is open on Sundays and Wednesdays from May to November began in 2014 on the plaza next to the building.[5] Vendors for the indoor market[6] are selected by the operator, the non-profit Boston Public Market Association, and must sell food and other products that are produced or originate in New England. The market is the first in the United States with an all-local-food requirement.[7] The association operates a second seasonal outdoor farmers' market[8] in Dewey Square, near the southern end of the Greenway.

The Trustees of Reservations operates a vendor booth with dairy products from its Appleton Farms.[9] The Trustees also operates a 3,200 square foot kitchen within the market that will be "programmed with hands-on cooking demos, lectures, family activities, exercise classes, training and community events."[10]

Building

The market occupies most of the ground floor of a mixed use building constructed as part of the Big Dig highway and tunnel project. The building, on a site known as Parcel 7,[11] also includes ventilation towers for the underground highway, a portion of the Haymarket Station of the MBTA Green and Orange lines, a parking garage,[12] and office space occupied by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.[13] The building's architect was Arrowstreet.[14]

Market District

Markets have been in operation in this part of Boston at least since 1743, when a market opened on the ground floor of the new Faneuil Hall.[15] The three buildings of Quincy Market were added in 1826. These four buildings are today referred to as Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Street vendors have sold fruit, vegetables, and other products in the area[16] since about 1830.[17] The street vendors now operate as Haymarket, which consists of temporary stalls on Blackstone and Hanover Streets on Fridays and Saturdays year round, and which is managed by the Haymarket Pushcart Association.[18] [19]

In 2009, the Project for Public Spaces released a "Boston Market District Feasibility Study"[20] commissioned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). The proposed district would encompass the Parcel 7 market, a market on the ground floor of a building to be built on the adjacent Parcel 9,[21] Haymarket, and the Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

History

The site that eventually became Parcel 7 was cleared of its former buildings as part of the construction of Government Center in the 1960s.[22] A map in the 1964 Government Center Redevelopment Plan shows that a hotel was planned to be built on the site,[23] but the hotel was never built. A 1969 aerial photo shows the site being used for parking.[24] In 1987, a 19-story hotel and office building was proposed for the site;[25] it was never built.

Parcel 7 building before construction of the market

The land continued to be used for parking until construction of the Tip O'Neill Tunnel began in the early 1990s as part of the Big Dig, when the mixed use structure was built on Parcel 7. As a mitigation measure for the loss of this parking lot and other nearby parking, the Parcel 7 garage offers low-cost validated parking to customers of local merchants.[26]

The expansion of the Haymarket MBTA station into the basement of the building was completed in 2000. The parking garage opened for public use in 2001.[27] The Big Dig ventilation equipment in building was put into use when the tunnel opened in 2003. Fit-out of the office space for use by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority was halted in 2006 following the resignation of Turnpike Chairman Matthew Amorello.[28]

In 2008, the Massachusetts General Court passed an environmental bond authorization that provided "that not less than $10,000,000 shall be expended to establish a program to facilitate the creation of a general public market in Boston to provide local agricultural, seafood and aquaculture, dairy and specialty foods produced in the commonwealth".[29]

In 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation issued a request for proposals from developers to lease the office space, garage, and ground floor market in the Parcel 7 building. Two bids were received, but the state rejected both bids. State officials said neither bid provided high enough lease payments.[30]

The state subsequently decided to keep the office space for state agency use, to retain control over the parking garage, and to seek an operator for the ground floor market. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles moved into the office space in 2014.[31]

In 2011, the state Department of Agricultural Resources commissioned the Project for Public Spaces to develop an implementation plan for a market in the building.[32] Later the same year, the department issued a Request for Proposals for the development and operation of a "Public Food Market."[33] The bid[34] submitted by the Boston Public Market Association was the only one submitted to the state.[35] The Association was awarded the project in March 2012.[36]

In 2014, the Boston Public Market Association submitted to the BRA its plans for the market,[37] which were developed by the firm Architerra.[38] The BRA approved the plans in April 2014,[39] and construction began later in the year. The market opened in July 2015.[2]

The estimated construction cost of $15 million was funded with $6 million in grants to the market from the 2008 state bond authorization, $6 million in private donations, and a $3 million loan from The Conservation Fund.[40]

The market's first CEO was Liz Morningstar.[41] She was succeeded by Cheryl Cronin in January 2016.[42]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ "Boston Public Market". BostonPublicMarket.org. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 Geller, Jessica (30 July 2015). "Boston Public Market opens amid crowds". Boston Globe. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Exciting News: Opening 7 Days a Week". Boston Public Market Blog. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Greenway Farmers Market Returns". Boston Public Market email. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Boston Public Market opens for the season". Boston Globe. 2014-05-20. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Our Vendors". Boston Public Market. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Boston to Launch the Nation’s First ‘All-Local’ Public Market". Civil Eats. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Seasonal Farmers Markets". Boston Public Market. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Appleton Farms". TheTrustees.org.
  10. ↑ "Boston Public Market & The Trustees". Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Beyond the Big Dig - Parcel 7". Boston.com. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "Parcel 7 Parking Garage". Yelp. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Boston RMV". Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Parcel 7". Arrowstreet. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  15. ↑ Turino, Ken. "Boston's Market District". Boston Public Market. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Boston: Markets [Market District]". Boston Public Library. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. ↑ Phil, Primack (10 July 2005). "A Change in the Market?". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Haymarket - Boston". Facebook. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  19. ↑ Jahnke, Rebecca. "Despite Differences in Values, Neighboring Markets Thrive". Boston University News Service. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  20. ↑ Project for Public Spaces. "Boston Market District Feasibility Study". Boston Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Haymarket Hotel - Parcel 9". Boston Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  22. ↑ Warner, Bill. "A Horror Story with Bulldozers". Bill Warner's Blog. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Government Center Urban Renewal Area Illustrative Site Plan". Boston Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "The Boston Atlas". Boston Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  25. ↑ Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (1987). Parcel 7 : Boston, Massachusetts : draft environmental assessment. Boston: Congress 7 Limited Partnership. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Park". NorthendBoston.com. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  27. ↑ McMorrow, Paul (June 2011). "Back where they started". Commonwealth. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  28. ↑ McMorrow, Paul (2010-06-04). "Money meets bureaucracy in Haymarket garage". Boston Globe. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  29. ↑ "Acts of 2008 - Chapter 312". Massachusetts General Court. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  30. ↑ Ross, Casey (2009-09-18). "State rejects proposals for Pike property". Boston Globe. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  31. ↑ "Registry of Motor Vehicles Opens at Haymarket Center on Monday, September 15th". North End Waterfront.com. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  32. ↑ Project for Public Spaces (May 2011). Boston Public Market Implementation Report (PDF). Boston: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  33. ↑ Request for Proposals: Public Food Market Developer and Operator (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. December 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  34. ↑ Proposal for Public Food Market Developer & Operator (PDF). Boston: Boston Public Market Association. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  35. ↑ Conti, Matt (2012-03-02). "Boston Public Market Association is Sole Bidder for Food Market Planned for Parcel 7 Along Greenway". North End Waterfront.com. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  36. ↑ Fox, Jeremy (2012-03-19). "State commission designates operator for downtown public market". Boston Globe. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  37. ↑ Boston Public Market (2014-03-14). Application for Article 80 Small Project Review. Boston: Boston Public Market Association. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  38. ↑ "Boston Public Market". Architerra. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  39. ↑ Ross, Casey (2014-04-19). "BRA approves plans for public food market". Boston Globe. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  40. ↑ "Face of This Place". Conservation Fund. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  41. ↑ Leung, Shirley (19 December 2015). "Liz Morningstar: The hero to New England farmers". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  42. ↑ Woolhouse, Megan (5 January 2016). "Cheryl Cronin is new Boston Public Market CEO". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 February 2016.

External links

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BostonPublicMarket.org

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